Sean Thompson displays his All-Section form.

Rye Neck/Rye High Baseball

Kelley, Lavelle, Thompson Named to All-Section Teams

By Mitch Silver

Section 1’s baseball coaches announced their All-Section selections this week and three local players, all of them pitchers at least some of the time, were honored: Rye Neck senior Colin Kelley and Rye High’s Declan Lavelle and Sean Thompson, both juniors.

Kelley played centerfield and captained Coach Joe Carlucci’s Panthers when he wasn’t toeing the rubber. Thompson and Lavelle formed the left side of Coach Mike Bruno’s Garnet infield when it wasn’t their day to pitch. All three award winners are multi-sport varsity athletes: Thompson plays basketball, Lavelle is Coach Dino Garr’s quarterback in the fall, and Kelley is a defensive mainstay of Rye Neck’s powerhouse soccer team.

The trio joined Lakeland’s Player of the Year Joey Vetrano, a junior pitcher and first baseman who was also named New York State’s Gatorade Player of the Year, and Harrison’s Vinny Corso, another junior righthander like Vetrano, Lavelle, and Thompson, who was cited as the Section’s Pitcher of the Year for his efforts in the Huskies’ playoff drive.

The coaches’ association announced a Diamond Nine as well, honoring the top scholar-athletes in Section 1 baseball for 2019. The Garnets’ senior backstop, Alex Noga, made that distinguished list. Noga also earned All-Section Honorable Mention for his play behind the plate.